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Hooker with a heart of gold
The hooker with a heart of gold (also the whore with a heart of gold or the tart with a heart) is a stock character involving a prostitute with a hidden integrity and kindness. Characteristics This character is often a pivotal, but peripheral, character in literature and motion pictures, usually giving key advice or serving as a go-between. She is sometimes established in contrast to another female character who is morally perfect but frigid or otherwise unyielding. Hookers with hearts of gold are sometimes reluctant prostitutes selling their bodies due to either desperation or coercion from a pimp. The stereotype might owe something of a debt to certain traditions surrounding the Biblical figures of Mary Magdalene and Rahab, or to the ancient Indian theatrical tradition of Sanskrit drama where Śudraka's play Mṛcchakatika (The Little Clay Cart) featured a nagarvadhu (courtesan) with a heart of gold named Vasantasena. But this stock character is pervasive enough in various myths and cultures in the form of a tragic story of the concubine who falls in love with her patron/client or, alternatively, young and often poor lover. Therefore, this might be considered not just an archetype but also fairly universal, and somewhat indicative of various societies' complex ideas about sexual decency and moral character. A variation on the theme, the dancer (stripper) with a heart of gold, is a tamer version of the character. In opera and musical theater, a hooker with a heart of gold is most often portrayed by a mezzo-soprano. (One notable exception is the heroine of Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata, Violetta Valery, portrayed by a soprano.) She is portrayed in a tragic light and often dies a tragic death. In television history, the "tart with a heart" has become an important archetype in serial drama and soap opera, especially in Britain. During the 1960s, the character of Elsie Tanner in British series Coronation Street set the mold for future characters such as Bet Lynch (also Coronation Street) and Kat Slater (EastEnders). Characters of this nature are often depicted as having tragic lives, but put on a front when in public to create the illusion of happiness. More often than not, these female characters are vital to their respective shows, and inevitably become some of the biggest stars in British Television. The hooker with a heart of gold is also a prominent character in many American western movies. In The Usual Suspects, detective Dave Kujan says to Roger "Verbal" Kint: "...so don't sell me the hooker with a heart of gold." Examples * Ai (Miho Nikaido) in Tokyo Decadence * Aldonza/Dulcinea (Sophia Loren) in Man of La Mancha *Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) and Rollergirl (Heather Graham) in Boogie Nights *Belinda Keaton (Shelley Long) in Night Shift * Belle Watling Gone with the Wind * Bianca in Othello * Blanca in American Visa * Cabiria in Nights of Cabiria * Champabhai (Vyjayanthimala) in Sadhna * Chandramukhi (portrayed in film adaptations by Vyjayanthimala, Madhuri Dixit, Kalki Koechlin and others) in Devdas is a courtesan with a heart of gold * Charity Hope Valentine in Sweet Charity is a taxi dancer with a heart of gold. * Daisy in ''Californication'' * Dallas in Stagecoach * Donna Beck (Candice Earley) on All My Children * Danielle from The Girl Next Door is a former porn star with a heart of gold. * Donna Quintano (Monica Bellucci) in Shoot 'Em Up *Erin Grant (Demi Moore) in Striptease is a stripper with a heart of gold. *Erotica Jones AKA Stripperella (Pamela Anderson) on Spike TV's Stripperella'' *Fantine in Les Misérables * Frenchy in Destry Rides Again * Goldie in Sin City * Grizabella in Cats * Gulabo (Waheeda Rehman) in Pyaasa * Gus Malley (Sondra Locke) in The Gauntlet * Lady Heather (Heather Kessler) (Melinda Clarke), a professional dominatrix in CSI Las Vegas * Helen Ramirez (Katy Jurado) in High Noon * Helen Smart (Caroline Gillmer) in Prisoner (TV series) * Holly Golightly in Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's * Inara Serra (Morena Baccarin) in Firefly * Irma (Shirley Maclaine) in Irma la Douce *Ivy Miller (Reese Witherspoon) in Overnight Delivery *Jade (Heather Graham) in The Hangover *Jessica (Bridget Fonda) in Kiss of the Dragon *Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) in Once Upon a Time in the West *Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) in EastEnders *Lady/Bernadette (Erykah Badu) in House of D *Lauren Winter in the 2010 video game Heavy Rain. *Lana (Rebecca De Mornay) in Risky Business * Linda Ash (Mira Sorvino) in Mighty Aphrodite *Linda Rogo (Stella Stevens) in The Poseidon Adventure * Laurie (Lisa Edelstein) in The West Wing * Liza from Notes from Underground * Lorena "Laurie Darling" Wood (Diane Lane) from Lonesome Dove * Lucy from the Broadway musical Jekyll & Hyde * Luenell in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan * Lynn Bracken (Kim Basinger) in L.A. Confidential * Madhubala (Preity Zinta) in Chori Chori Chupke Chupke. * Makamon * Marguerite Gautier in ''La Dame aux camélias * Megan Lewis Mancini (Kelly Rutherford) in the original Melrose Place. * Mimi Márquez in Rent is an exotic dancer with a heart of gold. * Miss Mona Stangley in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas * Mother Shipton (a brothel owner) in The Outcasts of Poker Flat. *Myra in Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman * Nancy in Oliver Twist and its musical version Oliver! * Nancy Callahan is an exotic dancer with a heart of gold in Sin City. * Nandi (Melinda Clarke) from Firefly * Nut Gobbler from the episode of South Park entitled Erection Day * Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis) in Trading Places * Pam, stage named "Cassidy" (Marisa Tomei), in the 2008 film The Wrestler * Plourde, Maurice in "P-Town" * Pushpa (Sharmila Tagore) in Amar Prem * Rachel Mason, aka. Amanda Fenshaw (Eva Pope) in Waterloo Road * Robin (Julie Benz) on ''Desperate Housewives is a stripper with a heart of gold * Rona from 2Point4 Children * Sahibjaan (Meena Kumari) in Pakeezah * Satine (Nicole Kidman) in Moulin Rouge! *Sarah (Jenilee Harrison) in Tank * Sera (Elisabeth Shue) in Leaving Las Vegas * Shen Te in The Good Person of Szechwan * Sonya Marmeladova from Crime and Punishment * Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) from The Machinist * Suzie Wong in The World of Suzie Wong Reprinted in Shirley Biagi & Marilyn Kern-Foxworth, Facing Difference: Race, Gender and Mass Media. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Pine Forge Press, 1997. Pp. 32, 33. *Sydney Andrews (Laura Leighton) in the original Melrose Place *Taryn Manning in Hustle & Flow *The unnamed prostitute (Ruan Lingyu) in The Goddess * Transito from The House of the Spirits * Tallulah Black (Megan Fox) in Jonah Hex * Umrao Jaan (Rekha) in Umrao Jaan. * "V" (Melanie Griffith) in Milk Money * Vasantasena in Mṛcchakatika (The Little Clay Cart) is a nagarvadhu (courtesan) with a heart of gold * Violetta Valery in La Traviata * Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) in Pretty Woman * Yuka Otowa in Crescendo (visual novel) See also * List of famous prostitutes and courtesans * Feminist film theory References External links * Category:Erotic literature Category:Stock characters Category:Fictional courtesans and prostitutes